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Topic Review (Newest First)

03-25-2012 10:20 AM

smallboatlover

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

I'm 15 almost 16 and i'm deffinatly on a shoe string budget. i don't have any bills to pay yet. I do work and most that money goes to the boat. i don't have the money to pay people to do the work for me so i learn what i need to do and do it myselft. i think most of us do that. Theres also a real sense of pride working on your boat yourslef and see the end result.

I wore a blue short sleeve shirt with a name tag to work every day for 30 years, so when a friend called me "a member of the privledged elite" during a political discussion I almost fell off his yacht from laughing so hard.

Sadly, in a country where over 50% of the population is low income ($45,000 total or less for a family of 4 Census data: Half of U.S. poor or low income - CBS News) you may very well be somewhat privileged nowadays, esp if u have a decent union job. Again, it's all relative...

03-23-2012 10:51 PM

capttb

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

I wore a blue short sleeve shirt with a name tag to work every day for 30 years, so when a friend called me "a member of the privledged elite" during a political discussion I almost fell off his yacht from laughing so hard.

03-23-2012 06:12 PM

Controlled Jibe

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

The $1100/month includes things like health insurance, the water and trash bill that follow us, car insurance and storage, etc. Also built in $300/month boat maintenance. We're hoping that the food/entertainment/fuel are more like $450/month. How does that compare with what you've seen for the Sea of Cortez? We'd love to get a recent, real life account, as ours is simply a guess at this point.

03-23-2012 06:01 PM

barefootnavigator

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

Brent, I just met some kids here in Bellingham, they bought a beautiful Swain hull and deck, busted their ass's for a year putting in a basic interior and sailed away with a pocket full of cash and a boat full of tools. Their plan is to finish her in Mexico. Just thought you might want to know.

03-23-2012 05:49 PM

Brent Swain

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

$1100 a month is a huge amount of money to be cruising the Sea of Cortes on, far more than I have ever had in 40 years of cruising. My total cost of living is less than most people pay for moorage. Don' tie to docks.
Don't pay others to put your beans and pea soup in cans for you .Buy it bulk and cook it yourself. Can your own meat and fish. Make your own bannock in a cast iron fry pan.

John that was funny. It is an fc and I did pay cash for it but it was by total accident. One day after signing my final divorce papers this little boat found me, she was half price and a worthy investment. When she arrived on her borrowed trailer my life savings was 00.19 cents, so there you have it I got lucky but after 25 years "i'm 43" of sailing and rebuiling boats I think it was finally my time. As of today I have no engine, head, ice box, nav equipment... I do have a compass all plain sail in good condition and my youth.

03-23-2012 01:31 PM

Controlled Jibe

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

We've been saving furiously for 8 months on two middle class incomes and we should have enough to cruise the Sea of Cortez for a year or so.
We own a house and rental income should cover the mortgage while we're gone.
After much research, we're estimating living on about $1100/month while anchoring out down there.
Small, simple inexpensive boat (28' Pearson Triton) that we paid cash for should help keep costs down.

03-23-2012 12:31 PM

CarbonSink62

Re: Sailing on a shoestring.

My wife and I do ok, but we are far from rich. I sailed off a trailer forever and it is just this season that we are upgrading to a bigger boat with a mooring for the summer and a yard for the winter.

The fees for registration, insurance, mooring and yard come to $220(US)/mo; I know that it isn't that much money, but it is essentially 'money out the window' as soon as the checks are written. It is as much as a car payment; I don't know how anyone does a boat mortgage AND all the annual fees.

I got into the new boat for cheap, but it wants a lot. It only needs afew things, however. A tiller comes to mind; I broke the old one trying to see how stiff the rudder was. (I'm quite the brute, apparently)

So, I do all of my own maintenance when I can and I buy used equipment whenever I can. And sailing is just about all I do. No ski passes, no trips, very few dinners out...

John that was funny. It is an fc and I did pay cash for it but it was by total accident. One day after signing my final divorce papers this little boat found me, she was half price and a worthy investment. When she arrived on her borrowed trailer my life savings was 00.19 cents, so there you have it I got lucky but after 25 years "i'm 43" of sailing and rebuiling boats I think it was finally my time. As of today I have no engine, head, ice box, nav equipment... I do have a compass all plain sail in good condition and my youth.

Barefoot

She's a real beauty. I have been lurking around your blog for a while now, great read.
Good luck on your up coming cruising adventures. Keep the boat and dog happy and everything else will fall in place the way it should.

John

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